Marvel Offers Top Gun Maverick Star the Sentry Role in Thunderbolts After Steven Yeun’s MCU Exit
Like always, Marvel Studios is currently busy cooking multiple projects at the same time. The one that has created the most buzz out of all these is obviously Deadpool 3. However, at times, even the other ones get a chance to shine when a new update or rumor starts making rounds on the internet.
Right now, the upcoming movie Thunderbolts is out to steal the thunder of Deadpool 3, even if momentarily. According to an industry insider, Top Gun: Maverick star Lewis Pullman is in talks of starring as Sentry after Beef star Steven Yeun refused to do it.
Read More: Did Steven Yeun Leave MCU Ahead of His Debut in Thunderbolts as Sentry?
Lewis Pullman Might Make His Marvel Debut as Sentry in Thunderbolts
Steven Yeun was tapped to appear as Robert Reynolds a.k.a. Sentry in the movie in February 2023. However, he dropped out of the project by the end of the year. This left a Sentry-shaped hole in the Thunderbolts cast. According to industry insider Daniel Richtman and rDCUleaks on X, Lewis Pullman has been offered the role of Sentry.
In collaboration with @rDCUleaks, I can report that Lewis Pullman has the current offer for Sentry in THUNDERBOLTS. pic.twitter.com/2RCYNRwCYL
— Daniel Richtman (@DanielRPK) January 25, 2024
Lewis Pullman, son of actor Bill Pullman, made his entry into Hollywood with his father’s Western film The Ballad of Lefty Brown. He has appeared in several movies and shows since then. His performance as a chemist in the miniseries Lessons in Chemistry, starring Brie Larson in the lead role, has earned him nominations for Critics’ Choice Television Awards and Independent Spirit Awards.
Thunderbolts is going to be a part of Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Its development began in June 2022 and is going to be based on the Marvel comics featuring an antihero team of the same name.
So far, Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, Wyatt Russell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Valentina Kurylenko, David Harbour, and Hannah John-Kamen are expected to reprise their respective roles from previous MCU films. This was announced in September 2022. Additionally, Harrison Ford is set to reprise his role as Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross from Captain America: Brave New World.
Why Did Steven Yeun Drop Out of Thunderbolts?
Steven Yeun rose to prominence with his role as Glenn Rhee in the apocalyptic horror drama TV series The Walking Dead. His performance in the 2020 American drama Minari earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. For his lead role in the dark comedy series Beef, he won two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.
Earlier this month, Steven Yeun revealed why he was dropping out of Thunderbolts. He told Variety:
“I think for me, time passing and things shifting kind of pulled me out of it. But Jake [Schreier], I know, is going to do an incredible job. I wanna do a Marvel movie. It took a lot of drafts on email to make sure that I conveyed the sincerity of how sorry I was to have to back out.”
Starring in a Marvel movie is every actor’s dream. After all, who doesn’t want to be a superhero? However, sometimes people have to make hard decisions despite what their heart wants. This was one of those decisions for Yeun, who had to back out due to scheduling conflicts caused by the SAG-AFTRA strikes that happened last year. Hopefully, Marvel is not too mad to deprive the actor of another chance to star in a superhero movie.
